Soulmates
by Danko Kaji
Summary: They had seen it in each other's eyes; They had felt it in their very beings; That they were just love itself. /Implied SasuHina/ Modern Version of 'Beauty and the Beast' -Dedicated to Jpanda92.
1. Affinity

**Ch. 1 –– Affinity**

**Kindred Spirits**

_"Love is the affinity which links and draws together the elements of the world... Love, in fact, is the agent of universal synthesis."_

_-Teilhard de Chardin_

* * *

_**(Reality and Imagination - two cornucopias which have never touched - brings forth two similarly different individuals...)**_

"'_Take me away... A secret place... A sweet escape... Take me away..._'"

A sentimental song poured out from the indigo-haired maiden's lips in mere whispers.

The earphones plugged firmly within the holes of her ears succeeded in drowning out the hostile exchange of spouted insults between her two siblings from the next room over. Hinata chose not to intervene and stop the two from annihilating each other; instead, sought refuge within the confinements of her bedroom. The soothing music - sung by none other than Natasha Bedingfield - flowed into her mind and soothed her heart into serenity.

"'_Take me away... To better days... Take me away... A hiding place...'"_

Her delicate pearl eyes drooped in concentration, the naturally curled eyelashes sweeping across her eyes for every time she blinked.

Hinata guided her dominant right hand to sketch the likeness of a preteen male - a solemn frown gracing his apathetic face. A proud and spirited flame long extinguished within his sharp, charcoal eyes. Spiky hair as pitch black as the purest onyx - reflecting the richest of blue sheen - blanketed his cheeks with long velvety bangs. His face handsomely sculpted with a diamond-cutting knife - fashioned with maturity rarely found among the common youth.

"'_There's a place that I go that nobody knows where the rivers flow and I call it home...'"_

Indeed, he has starred in every night of her dreams for God knows how long. Ever since she could no longer put her true self out in the open without the guarantee of freedom and safety.

This world, reality, held too much abuse and negativity - beyond the amount Hinata could possibly tolerate.

There are countless of people who demanded certain expectations to be met and hiss with disappointment when failure is the undesired result. The moral of compromise seems to be blatantly ignored when family, friends, and lovers continued to instigate fights amongst each other. As if working for an agreement was too difficult to achieve. And who would've thought there existed true heartless individuals in the world who took pleasure in belittling others - using deception and lies to twist the truth and harm the people they hate for the senseless of reasons.

"'_And there's no more lies and the darkness is light and nobody cries - There's only butterflies...'"_

Unfortunately, the shouting and yelling increased in volume. To the point it exceeded the music pounding in her ears. Hinata grimaced from the words of perversity blending in with the calming lukewarm melody. It contrasted each other far too greatly for her tastes - it was unorthodox.

"I told you not to go in my room without asking, you damn bastard!"

"Hanabi! A girl your age shouldn't be using that type of language!"

"Go and piss off! And stop trying to change the subject! I've told you over a million times and now I'll say it again: Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. Room!!"

"What's your problem? All I'm doing is putting your clean clothes from the laundry back in your room. No need to start BSing about it..."

"Whatever. Finish what _mother_ has told you to do and leave. I'm still talking with my boyfriend on the phone."

"Hanabi... How many times has Dad lectured you about having a boyfriend?"

"I lose count after the thousandth time and who asked you?!"

Hinata sighed, thinking it wise to go to sleep. Now. Before they decided to drag her into the fight, which was the last thing she wanted. It wasn't in her nature to favor one side over the other, thus the reason why the family dubbed her as the 'harmonizer.'

Pulling out the earphones from inside her ears, she turned her Ipod nano off and decided to put away her art materials for the night - getting everything set for tomorrow morning when she leaves for school. Her father had constantly instructed her with an absolute strictness to always be prepared for the next day, because one could always forget things in the brink of dawn.

Ah, yes... her father. The same man who's the very root of her stress.

"Neji! How long are you going to take to complete a simple task?"

Speak of the devil.

She rolled her eyes, knowing full well his attempts in quelling the two riled dragons spitting fire at each other would end up being futile.

"Hn. Your _daughter _here is behaving like an intolerable, spoiled brat. All she does is talk for hours and hours on the phone with that idiotic _boy–_."

"His _name_ is Konohamaru–."

"Like any other normal ungrateful girl on this planet–."

"I _am_ a girl, if you haven't noticed–."

"Stop it you two!"

Wanting to escape the onslaught of verbal daggers tonight, she hastened to get to bed, slipping on a tank-top and clean pair of underwear, before discarding her previous dirty clothes into the hamper. Then, she literally threw herself onto the cushiony mattress and curled into a ball, groping for the pillow and shoving it over her head in hopes to block out the noise.

"You don't see Hinata acting like this little miscreant!"

"Well _excuse_ me if I'm not Little Miss Virgin Mary! Hinata this, Hinata that - that's the only thing I ever hear from your flapping mouth! If you love her that much, go ahead and marry the damn prude! See if I care."

"That's enough out of you, young lady!"

Alas, to no avail. It was apparent she had to change tact.

By envisioning the handsome boy from her dreams brought a small smile to her lips - at the same time succeeding in muffling the loud raucous to a low buzz. For some strange reason, this boy possessed the innate ability to draw all of her worries and negativity into a condense ball - letting it float away into space, disappearing forever from the crevices of her mind.

Thanks to him, she could sleep soundly tonight.

...

The darkness was... palpable.

Hinata raised her hands to feel the unexpected texture of leaves against her flat palms. Soon weaving through the thick foliage of darkness with a tentative curiosity, the young girl cautiously navigated forward despite the fear of what might be waiting for her in the unknown.

She had this gnawing feeling in her gut that something was calling to her. Someone... wanted for her to come. To let her know _he_ had an existence... and that _he_ was waiting...

XOXO

Sasuke felt a single heartbeat.

_b-bump _

Another...

_b-bump b-bump_

_..._and then another...

_b-bump b-bump b-bump b-bump_

Until it became incessant. Someone, other than himself, was here. Somehow, someway... he wasn't alone anymore.

Wisps of air puffed out from his nose as he walked across the desolate plain of stark white snow. It stretched on for miles and miles for the eyes to see, suffocating the already dead grass and stagnant soil beneath its cold temperature. Trees with their opaque trunks and pale-colored leaves littered the entire land of bitter isolation, stripped of all organic properties essential to nature.

His shoe-clad feet crunched along the powdery snow as the snowflakes ceased to fall from the forgotten heavens, having long been whisked away by the fleeting wind. The stormy clouds tainted the lustrous sky with its profound waste of despair and hopelessness, mirroring the boy's own. It slowly drifted toward the opposite direction of his destination, as if being repelled by this positive force.

Sasuke's hands were jammed into his shorts' pockets - a vain attempt to thaw out the cold. His line of sight was fixated on that single area where the opaque trees clustered together to create a wide threshold of a forest. The darkness surrounding it didn't daunt him. No, he knew what awaited inside, and that was more of a reason for him to quicken his pace.

Time in this dimension of fantasy was undefined. It neither flew passed in a blink of an eye nor agonized Sasuke with it's snail-like speed. By wanting to reach the remote location hidden within the hollowness, he willed the distance to disappear - pushing aside the black foliage to venture onwards. To resist the emotion of fear was vitally important. If even for a second, Sasuke slipped up and warped on a miserable event of his life... well, he learned the hard way of dwelling on it for ages.

Suddenly, rays of light flickered through the rustling leaves, bushes, and trees until finally - Sasuke exited the depths of misery and into sun-kissed clarity. To think _she_ was here of all places...

Green.

The color of health, vitality, life.

It painted nearly everything - with the exceptions of exotic flowers given their individual colors. Emotions of various wavelengths radiated from the aromatic plants, which Sasuke guessed all belonged to _her_.

Despite his nose crinkling from the sweet scent roaming in the fresh air, he strained his eyes to follow the sparkling rivers streaming throughout this entire clearing. So pure and clean - with hope as its nourishment.

Next, he lifted his gaze to drink in the intense sunlight bathing the whole area with tender love - an iridescent ring framing the white-hot star, which was implanted within the mesmerizing azure sky.

This clearing was created dependent on the dreams of the beholder. In other words, Hinata Hyuuga.

Though a little distasteful of the bright and blissful atmosphere, Sasuke admitted everything looked utterly magnificent, but refused to idle any longer. Thus, he wandered around, seeking the young girl who supposedly wound up here - due to an unearthly reason.

Perhaps it was Fate?

Such a possibility did exist. How else could she have arrived here in an imaginary world where only he resided when there were countless of other dimensions to end up at?

No point in pondering the issue. All that mattered was that Hinata was here somewhere and he swore to find her before she could randomly disappear someplace where he might not be able reach her.

Her heartbeats...

_b-bump b-bump b-bump b-bump b-bump b-bump b-bump_

They sounded louder, closer...

His heart practically raced from anticipation in toe-to-toe with her heart - as if they were connected to act as a whole. Sasuke wanted to meet this girl, to know what she was like, to feel her as if she really, truly existed. He _needed_ to see her.

Wait.

Sasuke halted.

There she was, straight ahead. A smile tickled his face and he stepped forward, but immediately deadpanned when seeing her sprawled out unconscious on the lush grass. Did she get hurt? Got attacked by anything dangerous? He wouldn't know, he hadn't seen any creatures inhabiting this world. So what happened...?

Next, he immediately rushed over and knelt down beside her, to thoroughly assess the damage.

...

...well, Hinata had a considerable lack of clothes on her, making him a blush a little. Nothing seemed wrong with her, though. Not a scratch, bruise, cut, or scrape– on the contrary, she looked completely serene on the small blades of grass. Just in case she was indeed asleep, Sasuke placed two fingers on her neck and felt its steady pulse.

So he was getting scared for nothing, huh?

Sasuke sighed, letting his touch linger on her skin to relish the warmth she radiated before withdrawing his hand to study her unconscious profile.

The images he had envisioned of this girl didn't do its justice.

A shame her eyes weren't open, yet, but if his memory served him right - a neutral smile stuck to her sympathetic face. A mirror reflecting an evanescence of hope within her clear, glass eyes. Unique, trimmed hair painted a glossy black - delicate like the softest satin - twin long bangs caressing her unblemished cheeks. Her short tresses decorated her porcelain doll face - an embroidery of blessed beauty insinuating her kind innocence.

Yes, this was definitely her; and, it was her in the flesh.

Sasuke would hate to wake her up when she looked so peaceful, but... what if her time here was short?

He knew, above all, Hinata came from a different world, Reality. She had to go back sometime, right?

Even though they haven't properly met, he didn't want to part from her so soon. At least, not until they get to know each other. He wanted to learn everything about her, spend as much time as he could with her to fulfill the empty void of his lonely, isolated existence. Nobody has ever entered this world since Sasuke came; it was a miracle alone he found Hinata snoozing here like a sleeping beauty.

XOXO

Light...

The first thing she saw was light.

A male figure hovered over her slightly, his head thankfully blocking out the glare of the sun directly overhead. So heavenly - how the searing hot rays of sunlight made his face glow.

From what she could see, a thin smile adorned his usually forlorn face, betraying the soft glimmer of curiosity behind the emotionless veil of onyx irises. After witnessing the subtle hint of light within his pupils, she claimed to be wrong - his eyes weren't dull and lifeless at all. They were simply unlit of any emotion.

Hinata then moved to sit up and Sasuke backed away slightly to give her room as she raised a hand to rub her drowsy head. After re-acquainting herself with her bright surroundings and recalled how she got here, she decided to focus her attention on _him_. The boy of her dreams.

His onyx eyes deeply penetrated her own pearl-tinted orbs, reflecting the same exact fascination.

It was then they knew–

Their pain could be finally shared, be finally understood by someone who cared.

Isolated from the world she lived in, surrounded by a myriad of people, and yet still feel so alienated to their abnormally normal lives - she felt so out of place. But here - _here _- it's like she belonged. With him. Free to be who she was inside. Not only timid, but thoughtful and empathic.

Cast away in a world where imagination ruled and nobody had dared to trespass this sanctuary, Sasuke forgot who he was, where he was born, what his past was like - everything. Alone in his thoughts, his emotions open to no one, his sense of self withering, his patience thinning - he fervently wished for someone to cross him - and like magic, she appeared.

One thing had brought their two souls together, linking them as one for an entire lifetime:

Loneliness.

To be alone together - why not?

* * *

**(A/N):** I wanted to try something different. Something that had to do with reality - with a little touch of fantasy. Honestly, I'm pleased how this chapter turned out, because I wanted emotions to describe the setting, not only beauty. It was a challenge, but I succeeded. I kind of borderlined on poetry with this one. :3

Note this story won't be long. I plan it to be around 6-8 chapters. Lol, The title literally speaks for itself.

Please review and tell me what you think.


	2. Compatibility

**Ch. 2 **–– **Compatibility**

**When Two Opposite Worlds Meet**

"_There is a special bond between twin soul mates - unconditional love, respect for each other, bringing out the best in each other, and highly compatible."_

_-Mettrie L._

* * *

_**(To dream or not to dream **_–_** What does your mind think? What does your heart feel? What does your voice say?...)**_

"...You might... want to put this on..."

Her ears twitched, rejoicing at the sound of his voice.

Smooth like a polished rock. Deep as his dark, dark eyes. The huskiness an added bonus to his physical appeal.

And the meaning of his awkward words slowly sunk into her head. Eyeing with confusion the garment he graciously held out to her, Hinata lowered her eyes to glance down at herself, now realizing the lack of clothes covering her body. Immediately, her face burned scarlet from pure embarrassment. Her arms instantly darted to fold across her chest.

"Pft." The corners of his mouth curled upwards, much resembling a smile of amusement. A hand flew to muffle the chuckles, which threatened to rip his mouth open. Her comical reaction was way too endearing... Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he developed a crush on her right then and there. Hastily shoving the offered sweater over her head with fussy hands, she fingered the hem that reached half-way below her thighs, satisfied of the loose, comfortable fit clothing her upper body. It was better than nothing, by her standards.

"T-thank you..." she shyly murmured.

Her voice was like sweet honey to his ears, and he savored it.

Lyrical like a tinkling bell. Gentle as her soft, soft heart. The kindness second nature to her shy demeanor.

And he watched with fascination the way her small fingers fidgeted restlessly with the collar of his sweater, the way her round eyes darted nervously from left to right, the way her peach lips pursed pensively into a thin line. Everything about her was so delicate, so demure, so innocent, so... Indecisive.

Hinata debated within herself what she was supposed think. She shouldn't get too excited about meeting this boy for the first time, because he supposedly was just a dream her mind conjured up during sleep. However, her heart said otherwise. The boy from her dreams had to be real. Just had to be. He was kneeling right next to her, if that was any proof; staring at her as if she was his favorite piece of toy on the market. His smoldering gaze made her feel self-conscious.

"W-what... what's your name?"

He blinked, jerked out of his daydream. "Sasuke."

_Sasuke._

Masculine, yet boyish.

She marveled at the uniqueness of his name, before he spoke again - dragging her mind back into orbit.

"I already know yours."

"Wha**–** r-really?" Sasuke frowned. His hearing was nothing, but acute and he didn't like the sound of suspicion leaking through the nervous tremors of her squeaky voice. Creeping her out wasn't his intention.

"Yeah... it randomly came to me." Sasuke paused, as if uncertain of whether or not his next words would either sound stupid or sensible. "Sometimes... I dream of... dreaming about you." He then took a deep breath to prepare himself - to tell Hinata her tale from his point of view. "When I close my eyes, I see you... living your daily life. I know your sister, Hanabi, and your older brother, Neji. They tend to fight a lot, and your mom and dad tries to stop them, but they never succeed. Whenever this happens, you hide in your room and pretend nothing is happening. And then, you think about me to forget about the angst ruining your life." Realizing how disturbingly animate he was, since Hinata was the first person he had ever talked to, his face paled with self-ridicule. Sasuke's voice took on a more tentative tone. "That's how you... get by sometimes..."

Now he felt extremely foolish. Who was he kidding? They had never met, until few moments ago, and yet he talked as if he knew her his whole life. If that wasn't freaky, Sasuke didn't know what was.

Hinata knew she should be rather suspicious of this boy, but oddly she smiled shyly in acceptance to his sketchy explanation. After seeing her reaction, Sasuke released a breath he wasn't aware of holding. _Divine relief._

Next, he took the chance to sit down beside her, resting his flat palms on the dewy grass. Hinata pulled her legs up to her chest, wringing her arms around her knees to hold them. Few glances shared and quiet smiles exhanged; the two made themselves comfortable in each other's mutual, momentary silence.

"Your dad... he makes you unhappy, doesn't he?"

"Mmhmm... there's a lot of reasons, a-actually, but..." Not entirely sure how knowledgable Sasuke was about her life, Hinata still proceeded to pour out the inner demons terrorizing her heart. All this time, her emotions were bottled up inside, left alone to continue building by itself and she hated it. "I think the main reason is because of d-daddy. He always wanted me to be perfect. Perfect grades, perfect friends, perfect manners, perfect goals, perfect future... perfect everything. He tried molding me into perfection.

"...I-it took me a fairly long time to realize perfection did not exist. There's always something bound to be wrong, a-and yet... daddy constantly told me to act better, act different..." To pause something so emotional was painful for her, but she had to in order to wipe away those infuriating tears blurring her vision. A few sniffles resounded in the quietness, before Hinata carefully picked up from where she last left off. "My siblings aren't perfect either, and yet... he still treats them better than me.

"S-sorry, I spoke too much..." Hinata averted her gaze and fiddled with her hands nervously.

"I don't mind," he reassured, cocking his head to the side charmingly, "I like hearing you talk. It's... soothing." In actuality, it frustrated him to maintain a calm front, when hearing her pain and her qualms was intolerable. However, there was nothing Sasuke could do about Hinata's life. So he kept the sentimentality secret. The anger and the grief flaring in his eyes sizzled away, leaving only a liquid warmth to remain.

And Hinata watched all this transpire in his eyes with awe.

"What?"

"O-oh, I was thinking..." A slow smile crept onto her cheeks. "I like your eyes." Sasuke managed to mumble an awkward thanks, before Hinata pressed on. "I draw you all the time, but seeing you up close in person... it's different."

"You draw good, I hope," he joked, a ghost of a smirk swept across his face.

"I-I believe I do," Hinata restrained a laugh, because her embarassment permitted her to. "Except, I failed to capture the light in your eyes. I dreamt of you often, but never have I..."

"..."

"C-can I... touch you?"

"Sure."

The moment her fingertips curiously grazed his hair, Sasuke tilted his head and closed his eyes, relishing her heartfelt touch. His raven black hair felt cool and silky, yet crisp at the spiky ends. Hinata unintentionally inched closer to him, granting herself an intimate view of his serene face.

Seeing him right now, re-studying his elegant facial features in contrast to the sketches she drew of him... what a remarkable difference.

"Y-you're very..."

"What?" he asked softly, re-opening his eyes.

"...cute." Hinata couldn't believe she admitted that _out loud_. What was she thinking?!

"Thanks." His lips quirked, and he chuckled. "You're cute, too."

It was a curious thing to him, how bright her cheeks turned red from heated embarrassment. Sasuke wanted to know how it felt to be warm, to touch human flesh upon human flesh.

Hinata fidgeted from his sudden advancement when he knelt forward, soon laying his pale cheek against her own and Hinata emitted a harsh gasp at the feel of his fiercely cold skin. It rapidly numbed her cheek, like dry ice killing her blood cells and Hinata violently shivered from the unpleasant sensation.

"Y-you are s-so... c-c-cold..." she stuttered, her teeth violently clattering like a drilling machine striking against cement pavement.

"You're so hot..." he murmured, his voice a sensuous caress.

For Sasuke, it felt so utterly marvelous. Her heat was like an exquisite furnace. It slowly melted the invisible ice encoating his whole body, the warmth rapturing his heart.

Hinata chewed her bottom lip pensively to suppress the urge to shift away from him. But to estrange herself for her own benefit so she could no longer feel cold, that's not what Sasuke needed. What he needed was a friend to support him, to care for him because he had no one else. Convinced by this incentive, she reluctantly raised her arms to cradle his body. Either Sasuke's temperature was gradually increasing or she grudgingly became accustomed to the cold, Hinata didn't know, but all she cared for at the moment relied on Sasuke's comfort and stability - not her own. God knew how long this boy withstood the chilly loneliness and isolation by himself, with no companion whatsoever...

"Why are you cold and miserable, Sasuke?" she had to ask.

"...I don't know." It wasn't a complete lie. What came with the cold was inexplicable misery and loneliness, but what caused him to feel this way - he didn't know.

Eventually, the two sprawled out on the comfy grass side by side, facing each other - the sole contact between them their linked hands. With a gaze listless and melancholic, Sasuke traced her knuckles lightly with his thumb. He was unwilling to accept the truth; to accept the reality that she was real and he was not. They were bound to be separated, just because of this major difference.

"You have to go back home sometime, don't you?" Sasuke mumbled, dejection weighing his voice. He refused to close his eyes, because he didn't want to lose sight of her, if even for a second. He was dreading the moment when she would disappear and leave him... forever... "You can't be asleep forever."

"I try..." Hinata breathed shakily for a moment, "not to think about it." She was afraid to close her eyes completely, for fear of drifting off into sleep and waking up - not wanting to believe it was all merely a dream. "I just want to focus on the _now_, what's in front of me. That's all that matters to me at the moment." Surely, these feelings she held for the boy wasn't imaginary. Surely, he had to be _more_ than just a dream of pure bliss. Surely, there existed an alternate version of Sasuke somewhere in her world.

It was possible. Anything was possible. She could only hope that's how it worked. She could only wish it was true.

"I... I swore to myself," Hinata murmured, gazing intently into his solemn eyes, reading the trepidation lurking behind them, "If I ever found someone I could put my complete faith in, I'd make him the happiest person alive. So... I don't think this is our last meeting together. We'll see each other again. I know it."

The only sign of trust she received from her friend was the hopeful light flickering in his charcoal eyes.

XOXO

_"Hinata."_

_"Hm?"_

_"What would it be like... if we lived in the same world, and met each other for the first time?" _

_"We're friends now, aren't we?"_

_"Yeah, but I wasn't finished. What if we weren't only friends, but lovers? And maybe got married, and built a family together. And nobody would be in pain. Everyone is happy."_

_"T-that's a big dream, Sasuke. It's... very nice."_

_"..."_

_"Sasuke...?"_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"...I wouldn't mind, spending my life with you."_

_"Me, too."_

* * *

**(A/N): **_Sooooo_ sorry I couldn't post sooner! T-T I had most of it written out by December, but never got around to finishing it (until tonight which actually took half an hour. -.-')

I was planning to have some incestual themes in this story, but decided against it. I found out it would be too complex, the storyline I mean, and not many people would be so tolerant as to read incest. Instead, _Soulmates _is going to be a modern spin-off of **Beauty and the Beast**. Always wanted to write one of those... especially with SasuHina. X3 I'm kinda getting sick of seeing Romeo & Juliet stories... came across like four of those, lol.

And I have to give thanks to Sphyma for correcting my grammatical mistake in the last chapter. If you, my readers, notice something something wrong (like I made an error or something doesn't make sense) let me know. And I'll fix it.


End file.
